Warning: that spoon may be a weapon (who knew?)

One of the myriad reasons that I (only sort-of) joke about being a Misplaced Californian is that I've been environmentally-conscious to some degree for quite awhile now. (Or, to put it another way, I was "green" when that was just another color in the Crayola box...) For example, when I drove cross-country in the mid-90s, I kept each and every one of my empty Diet Dr. Pepper bottles (and there were oh-so-many) in my trunk since I couldn't find any place to recycle them--until I reached California, of course. (Incidentally, while on the Left Coast I also discovered Power Bars and "wrap" sandwiches, two other brilliant inventions that had not yet spread across the nation, but which profoundly changed my life...a story for another time, perhaps.) And while I'm not about to join Greenpeace and chain myself to any whaling ships (which would be difficult to do in Maryland anyway), I do try to make responsible choices in my everyday life to lessen my impact on Mother Earth. And, as is my absolute right as a parent, I'm hauling my children along with me on the Tree-Hugging Mission.

Maybe because I introduced the Conservation Concept to them at such an early age, the boys barely bat an eye at many of the practices we follow on a day-to-day basis. Derek will nonchalantly ask me, "Can this be recycled or do I have to throw it away?" Riley will check to see if something can be put in the compost bin. Since the previous school year, they each have had a set of reusable PVC-free plastic bags to pack their snacks and lunch food. And recently, I went the final step to making their home-packed meals completely trash-free. I bought them each a cute, soccer-ball-patterned cloth napkin and a set of bamboo utensils for their lunchboxes. Bless their little Earth-loving hearts, they thought their new supplies were super-cool.

It was actually Husband who thought to ask them at dinner one day, "What do your friends think? Do you get teased?" Derek quickly replied, with a great deal of enthusiasm, "No, they think it's awesome!" Feeling suddenly warm and fuzzy toward 5th-grade boys, I chimed in, "Maybe they'll tell their Moms about it, and you'll start a trend!" I had just begun to see wild visions of an entire elementary school reducing its waste and utilizing sustainable resources...when he destroyed my fantasy by adding, "The guys think these bamboo spoons are excellent for having sword fights at the table!" Oh well. Maybe Al Gore started out as a Bamboo-Utensil-Waving Crusader, taking the message to his buddies, one stab at a time...or I'm going to get an interesting call from the Principal one day very soon...and have a Suspended (and "grounded", ha ha!) Environmentalist on my hands!